INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF MOTHER TONGUE INTERFERENCE ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DELTA, AGBOR.

This study investigated the impact of mother tongue interference on English language learning among students learning English as a second language. Specifically, it examined how students’ native language affects their pronunciation (phonological errors), confidence in speaking English, grammatical accuracy, and overall language proficiency. The research adopted a quantitative descriptive survey design. A sample of 100 students from the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Delta, Agbor, was selected using a random sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire comprising five sections and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and Chi-square statistical tests. Findings revealed a significant relationship between students’ mother tongue and the frequency of phonological errors in English. The study also showed that mother tongue interference negatively impacts students’ confidence in speaking English and significantly affects their grammatical accuracy and overall language proficiency. Based on these findings, the study concludes that mother tongue interference remains a major challenge in second language acquisition, particularly in multilingual societies like Nigeria. The study recommends the integration of more phonetics and spoken English activities in the university curriculum, the establishment of English-speaking clubs, and the application of contrastive teaching methods. It further suggests that both teachers and learners adopt deliberate efforts to minimize L1 interference. The findings of this study contribute to the growing body of knowledge on second language acquisition and provide practical implications for curriculum developers, educators, and policymakers.